Hands-On SAS for Data Analysis

Using the %BQOUTE and %NRBQOUTE quotes

%BQUOTE masks special characters such as parentheses, quotation marks, mathematical operators, and semi-colons. The advantage that %BQUOTE has over other functions, such as %STR, is that unmatched quotation marks, parentheses, and percent signs do not have to be used in conjunction with %. As we discussed earlier, %BQUOTE masks special characters when the macro is executed; this allows each quotation mark or parenthesis to be masked independently of others. %NRBQOUTE can also mask ampersands and the % sign. %NRBQUOTE differs from other quoting functions in that macro variables will be resolved where possible, but any ampersands or percent signs in the result are not viewed as operators when we use other ...